Unwell
by Aithril the Elf-Maiden
Summary: Ryou's father discovers that his son has changed and is acting... strangely in his absence. What does he do? I think we all know this won’t end well.
1. Are you sure you're not Crazy?

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!. Yami, on the other hand... (Joking, joking... -beats back lawyers-)

Summary: AU- Ryou's father discovers that his son has changed and is acting... strangely in his absense. What does he do? I think we all know this won't end well.

A/N: Hey, guys! Yes, another new story. I'm very enthused about this one- it's going to be great.

Some things that need to be explained…

1. In this story, Ryou did get the Millennium Ring containing Bakura (Yami Bakura). However, that is where the original story line stops and mine begins. This includes other YGO characters as well.

2. No yaoi. Sorry, guys.

3. I made up the name for Bakura's father. I'm sure he has one, but I couldn't find it. ;; I hope you like the name 'Seiko'.

4. Hint: Go look up the meaning of his name. Also be sure to look up what Horus represents so you know why it's mentioned as scruffy-looking later in the chapter.

5. There will be a sort of 'theme song' for every chapter. I find that this really helps the reader to understand what's going on, what emotions are running high, and what might happen next. The theme song for this chapter is "Unwell" by Matchbox 20.

(Cliché, I know. Come on, it's the name of the fic and it fits perfectly. Work with me here. The songs _will_ get better.)

-Aithril

-

-

-

-

-

Unwell

-

Are you _sure_ you're not crazy?

-

-

-

-

-

"Hey! I'm back!"

No reply.

"Ryou? You there, buddy?"

Nothing.

His father, Seiko Bakura, shrugged. _Must be out somewhere..._

He strode around the corner and deposited his coat in the hall closet.

..._ wait a minute._

He retraced his steps and stared.

On the kitchen counter was a statue. It looked Egyptian, and he guessed it to be Ra. But next to it was another- Osiris. Who was next to him? Ma'at! And on it went, a whole line of gods that patiently sat in a neat row on the marble countertop like soldiers waiting for the go-ahead. All the figurines were in prime condition and looked to be carefully cared for… except for Horus, the god to the very left. He seemed a bit beat up. But the real question was…

Why were they in the kitchen?

Seiko wandered into the living room, head swerving to and fro in wonder. An old Egyptian tablet was resting next to a lamp that flickered like a torch when he turned it on. All across the walls hung pictures of tombs, treasure, and pyramids.

__

Either Ryou's interests have changed... or he's scored a very_ obsessed girlfriend._

Then he spotted it- something normal! A black leather couch squatted in front of the television. _So that's what he bought with the money I sent him..._

There was only one thing missing... but he didn't have to look very hard.

Something glinted gold in the corner of his vision and he turned towards it, not in the least surprised at what he saw.

Leaning in the corner was a solid gold sarcophagus. How did he know?

He tried to lift it and nearly broke his back.

__

Oh my... God.

A _real_ coffin. A real one. Not a fake plastic one, a real one. He was too afraid to open it and check, but the evidence was there all right. Where had Ryou gotten this? Was it stolen, perhaps? The images of crazy people partying in _his_ apartment and drawing with sharpie markers on _his_ walls increased as he walked into his son's bedroom. It was painted black on one side and light blue on the other.

__

What kind of color clash is this? Easter-themed Oreos?

Ryou's bed was unmade, something completely unlike him. Seiko frowned. Not only that, but all the sheets were bunched in the middle as if two people had climbed out either side...

A small white night table on the blue side of the room supported some type of stand. What could it be for? Seiko had no idea.

His mouth was dry with... surprise? Apprehension? He wasn't sure. But he needed a drink. After closing the door behind him, he made his way to the kitchen and pulled a glass out of the cabinet. While the water level rose to the brim, he suddenly noticed a small slip of paper taped near the phone:

Marik- 03 9284 0294

__

Marik, huh?

Seiko hesitated, set the glass on the counter, then snatched up the phone with a firm resolve. If he was going to unravel the sudden change in his son, he had to start somewhere- and what better place than with his friends? He dialed the number with the slightest of trembling.

It picked up.

"- the fuck are you doing? I told you not to touch that! Stop _laughing_! For the love of Ra, just put it down and-" There was a fumbling noise as the phone was dropped on the other end. "Sorry, hello?"

Ryou's father was too dumbfounded to say anything.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

Seiko slammed down the phone and backed away from it, breathing heavily. What had happened to the nice kids Ryou used to associate himself with? How did he ever come to know that psycho anyway?

He took a long gulp of water to calm himself.

__

Calm down. Be logical.

He glanced around.

It's not like you can just go watch TV after that. Go see what else your son has hoarded in this apartment.

The only room left in the apartment was the bathroom, so he crossed the hall and opened the door, glancing in. There were lovely scenes of crocodiles eating people in the Nile, riveting battles between gracefully crafted ships, and a bathmat with a creepy golden eye symbol.

Wonderful.

He was about to leave when he did a double take. A red stain shone faintly around the sink and he peered closer in fascinated horror. Was that...

__

... blood?

WHAM!

The front door slammed and he jumped six feet in the air. Sometime on the way down, he decided he didn't want to see his son changed. Skidding into the hallway, he frantically looked left and right. He could hear Ryou talking, and didn't want to be found.

So he dove into the closet.

He pulled the door closed until there was only a half-inch length of vision through which he could see the front door, the kitchen, and into Ryou's bedroom.

The boy seemed to be talking to someone as he kicked open the door, judging by the way it slammed into the wall. "-yes, I know."

Pause.

"I didn't mean to, honestly."

Pause.

"Well, how was I supposed to know I would trip and it would pop out of my shirt like that?"

__

Must be on a cell phone.

Seiko remembered he was supposed to be checking if any change had come upon Ryou himself... he opened his eyes and peered sideways through the horizontal crack.

His son looked about five years older though it had only been a year and a half since Seiko's last visit. He was wearing a blue and white striped t-shirt, a light blue trench coat, and plain jeans. Relieved to see him wearing slightly normal clothing, the father watched as he carried an armful of groceries to the table, staring at a point near the refrigerator the whole time.

Finally the boy sighed. "I know, I know. It'll be hidden better the next time I go out. And I'll watch my feet." He started putting away the perishables.

Forehead wrinkling, Seiko pressed his eye against the strip of light.

__

A really tiny cell phone.

Ryou suddenly laughed and pushed back the soft locks of hair that covered his ears. Seiko looked carefully.

Nothing.

__

What the…?

Still chuckling, Ryou reached out to midair and closed his arms around something. If there had been a person there, it could have been considered a hug.

But there wasn't!

Was there?

"Look, I'm sorry, all right?" He released the 'person' and stepped back, still grinning. "Hey, d'you want some lunch?" Seiko watched as he turned towards the fridge and pulled out a can of something.

"I forgot earlier, but I wanted some tuna fish today. Care to try some?"

His son was crazy.

"Oh, come on! Fish is considered meat."

Pause.

"No, no blood involved."

Pause. He sighed. "Fine, I'll just make some for myself. Do you know-"

The phone interrupted with a shrill, excited cry. Seiko stiffened.

__

Oh no.

"I'll get it." Ryou caught the phone neatly in one hand and pinned it to the side of his head while he opened the can. "Hello?"

Pause.

"Hi, Marik."

Pause.

"No, I didn't just call you."

Pause.

"Are you sure?"

Pause.

"Ok. Bye." He sounded nervous.

Great, now he was terrifying his own son.

Ryou hung up and turned away, his brow creased in puzzlement.

"Marik thought I called," he explained to the something - or **someone**, Seiko thought, terrified- and continued chattering on about nonsense, the tuna forgotten.

Starting towards the bedroom, Ryou suddenly stopped and stared.

His door was shut.

"Did you- ?"

At once, he looked more confident and grim. "I didn't."

Pause.

"Calm down, baka. If there's anyone here, I'll find them."

Seiko was white as a sheet when Ryou's head snaked back and forth, listening for something. Upon realizing this, of course, the father tensed and starting breathing shallowly.

Every breath might be too loud.

__

Shit. There's a crazy person in the house and- and-

It's my son.

"Act natural," he murmured inaudibly to himself. Ryou's head whipped around in surprise as Seiko emerged from the hall closet.

His demeanor changed in an instant. "Father?" Those soft brown eyes of his crinkled in worry, then lit with wary delight. "How did- when did you- why were you in the closet?" he eventually decided to ask.

Seiko smiled nervously. "I came here from my flight about an hour ago and took a nap in my room with my jacket still on." His head bobbled back and forth, trying to force a bit of how-silly-of-me humor into the situation.

Ryou wasn't buying it.

Grinning foolishly, the father trudged on. "I woke up when I heard you talking on the phone to someone- so I was just hanging up my jacket."

They both knew the time lapse from the point Ryou had arrived to when Seiko made his appearance wasn't plausible to this explanation at all.

"Ah." his son said cautiously. "So- so you were asleep?" He had to check.

Seiko knew. "Yes, until a few minutes ago." He kept his tone light.

"That's fine then." Ryou tried to visibly relax. "How was your trip?" He motioned for them to sit down on the leather couch.

His father accepted, but perched tensely on the edge. Ryou raised an eyebrow. It looked like he was prepared to explode into motion should the need for it arrive.

"Ryou, I want to hear about you- are you ok?"

He was tossed an unbelievably overdramatic look. "Yes, I'm fine."

"How's school? Anyone picking on you?"

A faint smile ghosted over his lips. "No. No one picks on me anymore."

Seiko gave up and plowed on right to the point. "Look, I lied a bit. I wasn't asleep. Who were you talking to earlier?"

His son looked properly puzzled. "On the phone. A friend. His name is Marik-"

"Not him," his father said impatiently, leaning closer in earnestness. "When you had just came in. Who were you talking to then?"

Ryou played with a string hanging off the couch's stitching. "On a mini headset- with my cell phone. To a friend." he added hastily, his eyes darting from Seiko's to the floor.

The father took a deep breath. "You weren't."

Swallowing heavily, Ryou finally said, "Yes. Yes I was. I-"

"You weren't." Seiko said it again. He sounded more frightened than accusatory now.

Ryou stared. There wasn't much to argue that with. "I wasn't." he agreed lamely.

"What were you- who- do you see someone, Ryou?"

"What?"

"Do you- do you ever see something that isn't real?"

"No." He could say that confidently enough.

His father was near hysterics.

__

He won't even admit that his invisible things aren't real! Oh God! What am I supposed to do now?

"Then who _do _you talk to?"

Ryou swallowed again. "Myself." It was true enough, to be sure.

"Yourself!"

"Yes…"

"Yourself!" Seiko repeated, not believing it. "Don't lie to me!" He banged a fist on the coffee table, making his son flinch. "Tell me the truth!"

He was about to say more when a horrified look came into Ryou's eyes. A struggle of emotions played out- displays of rage and fear fought for control. He watched in fascination as rage won the battle.

"You want the truth?" Ryou's voice quivered and rasped harshly across Seiko's eardrums.

"Yes." he said, after a moment, wide-eyed.

Fear surfaced again and won the war.

" _I'll_ tell you." Ryou said softly, stressing the word as if asserting something to himself. "Do you remember the Ring you gave me three years ago?"

"The Ring?" Seiko said blankly. Why did the object sound as though it should be capitalized?

"You found it for me in the market in Egypt."

"Oh, yes." He was relieved.

__

Just a silly little trinket. Probably wasn't even real gold…

He glanced toward the sarcophagus in the corner and changed his mind.

__

Ought to keep my thoughts open…

"Well." Ryou stated, finding it difficult to pick up from there. "Well. When I put on the Ring for the first time, something strange happened."

"Something strange? Terrifying strange?"

"No." His son grinned, a private joke sort of smile. "Marvelous strange."

Seiko was silent for a minute as Ryou recollected himself.

"I heard someone talking to me."

__

And here it goes.

"That no one else could hear?"

"Exactly. His name is the same as mine- it's Bakura. We're both Bakura. He's a spirit from Egypt-" Ryou rushed on. "- except we don't really know how he was put in there. But you know the game Duel Monsters? He's absolutely brilliant at it and taught me how to play-"

"Wait!" Seiko interrupted. "Do you expect me to believe this?"

Ryou's happiness at spilling this to someone - _finally_ telling someone- dampened somewhat. "What do you mean?"

"This- this absolute load of bull that you're feeding me-" The father stood up, shaking his head. "I hadn't realized it'd got this bad."

"What?" The teen jumped to his feet. "Why don't you believe me-"

"All these trips." Seiko muttered, raking a hand sharply through his hair. "You've been left alone too much. All by yourself- I should've considered your feelings-"

"Stop talking like that!" Ryou shouted, panicked. "I'm fine!" He clutched the edge of his shirt, wringing it back and forth like a security blanket.

"And you wanted to come to Egypt with me…" A tone of dawning realization crept into his voice. "You made up this friend so you could pretend to be on the dig with me. I see it now-"

"No. That's not it."

"I know. It's that you didn't want to be lonely."

Ryou had calmed himself enough now to speak in a level, sensible voice. "Believe me! He's real. I can prove it-"

"Don't start with me."

The teen pulled back, stunned, his mind burning. "Father, why can't you trust-"

"Because you're insane, that's why." Seiko passed a hand over his forehead, dabbed at the sweat forming there, and made his way to the phone.

"What are you doing now?" Ryou asked when he found his voice.

"Getting you help."


	2. Short Fuses

**Disclaimer:** Disclaiming stuff, blah blah blah…

**Theme Song:** "Time is Running Out" by Muse

**A/N: **Uh… I don't know either. (shrugs, grinning)

* * *

Unwell

Short Fuses

**

* * *

**

"Ryou," the psychologist said with a polite smile. "Come on in."

The white-haired boy walked hesitantly into the office and perched on the cushion of a sitting chair, crossing his arms uncomfortably.

"Do you know why you're here?" she asked while slipping paper under the clasp on her clipboard.

Ryou considered how to answer.

**Use your puppy eyes.**

His hikari almost grinned, swallowed it in a cough, and answered.

"No, I don't."

"Ryou." She studied him critically. "You look smarter than that."

**Your father picked a good one.**

_Too good._

Bakura made a mental snort as if realizing something. **Ha! You'd think you'd be able to shield your thoughts from someone by now.**

Ryou tactfully decided to ignore him.

He picked up the glass of water the psychologist had just poured for him and took a sip. It was lukewarm.

"That's a very nice piece of jewelry," she commented abruptly, nodding to the Ring. "Where did you come upon it?"

Ryou answered while attempting to muffle Bakura's injured squawks at the idea of his precious Ring as 'jewelry'. "My father did. In Egypt."

The woman continued, "Mr. Bakura mentioned you thought you were in contact with the spirits, is that correct?"

Ryou choked on the mouthful of water, practically inhaling it before he began coughing reflexively. Where had that come from!

**It seems as though she knows something, though not everything.**

_You're right… oh… do you think… should I?_

Bakura read what he was thinking.

**Are you _crazy!_ Tell her about the Ring? About _me_!**

_No, listen to me! I think it would work. She seems like the sympathetic type, after all. What's the worst that could happen?_

**Hmph.** Bakura grumbled, obviously unwilling to think about that possibility. **Just don't mess up.**

Ryou could feel he'd hurt his yami into a puzzled mess, but he didn't know what else to say. If he just denied it to her, she would send him elsewhere and the whole process would begin anew; his father was not one to give up easily.

"It's only one spirit," he said after taking a deep breath.

"Pardon?" She had been expecting something more along the lines of a flat out denial or even a simple 'What?'.

"I'm only in contact with one spirit."

She studied this boy closely. His psychology did seem a little off. Too… non-angsty for the type of people she usually encountered in her office.

"Just one? So no other voices?" she tried to clarify.

"None."

Ryou watched her write something down on that little clipboard. He tilted his head in curiosity.

She stood up. "I'll go get us some more water."

He watched her leave. It was obvious that she wanted to catch him rifling through something like a hooligan on some hidden camera. He had other plans.

_Go._

The corporeal form of his yami strode purposely over to the table and looked down at the clipboard. His brow furrowed, and he leaned forward, squinting. Locks of hair blocked his confused eyes from sight, sliding before his gaze and molding into one thick strand. A minute later, he shook his head in hopelessness.

**I… don't understand what it means, **he confessed, scowling. The tomb robber didn't like admitting ignorance.

_What, is her handwriting messy?_

**No. I don't get.** He sent a picture of it to Ryou.

_What! She thinks I have a multiple personality disorder._ His eyes bugged out.

**That's a disorder?**

_Yes!_ The hikari yelped, distressed.

**… and that's bad?**

_Very._

**Oh. Shit. What do we do?**

_I'm not sure there's anything we _can_ do,_ Ryou said glumly. The damage was already done after all.

The young psychologist was slumped in a chair near the water cooler, trying to puzzle her strange client out. She huffed a sigh of exasperation and got herself another cup of chilled water.

It made no sense. It seemed like he was really certain there was a voice in his head. He seemed positively, absolutely, without a doubt nuts. But he didn't _feel_ crazy. He had a cute lopsided smile that he'd almost shown once when they were talking. Psycho people didn't tend to have such a lazy, easygoing way about them. They were always walking or pacing or tapping or making some other indication that they were nervous and ready to bolt. Though Ryou had indeed seemed a bit nervous, he had relaxed slightly as the session went on, which was completely normal and line to line with a normal human being.

After all, no one likes the doctor.

Despite this, she felt she had to do what she had to do. She's made her diagnosis. It was as accurate as could be. A little time in a facility might straighten him out. In fact, if it happened almost immediately, she would very well suspect his father.

Parents were often the source of trouble in their children. There was no exception made with the deranged.

Why, she had a second boy coming in later today just like Ryou, and his symptoms were exactly the same…

"_Are you kidding me!" _ Ryou bellowed, an impressive feat for his normally soft-spoken tone. He leapt up from the easy chair in the waiting room and clenched his fists.

"It will help you!" his father defended. "Don't you want to get better?"

"I'm _fine_!" Ryou reiterated. "Fine, fine, _fine_!"

Honestly, Bakura was holding in the most wicked side comment right here, but he didn't voice it. This was a tense moment. He was looking through Ryou's eyes when he saw Seiko's face, drawn taunt with anger, begin to morph into something far more ugly. Bakura growled, though he kept it from Ryou. No need to alarm his host; if it was necessary for him to act, he would do so.

"Ryou, listen to me," the other man ground out from between clenched teeth. "I am your _father_! You will do as I say! Do you hear me? Do you?"

"I'm a week from being eighteen, in case you forgot!" Ryou blurted out. "Stop treating me like the me from ten years ago that you missed growing up, and _you_ listen to _me_!"

His tone enraged Seiko past reason. Snarling, the older man reached to wring his neck, break his arm, do _something_, but just as his hand closed around Ryou's wrist- it disappeared.

Ryou's white hair hung into his eyes as he crouched with his head down from his position on the floor about four feet away. But it was no longer Ryou's hair. It was far too shaggy and wild to be Ryou's hair.

"How _dare_ you…" the teen's voice cut the silence in the room like a butcher's knife.

Seiko was still panting from his rage-induced leap. "What… what did you say?"

"How… _dare_ you lay a hand on my host!" the yami roared, launching himself with agile feet toward the man he perceived as a threat.

_NO!_

**Stop trying to protect him!** Bakura rasped, ironically, even as he sought to gain a hold on Seiko's neck. He would choke him, yes, slowly of course, to pay back the debt. He had never been there for Ryou, and suddenly he'd just expected to walk into their apartment and ruin their lives! First, sending them to this psycho ologist and then ordering they attend this _institution_!

"Stop this at once."

A familiar voice interrupted the fight's madness long enough for three burly security guards to grab the back of Bakura's shirt and wrestle him away from Seiko. He was snarling viciously still, almost inhumanly as he savagely ripped a chunk out of a guard's arm. The man howled in pain, dropping his fistful of shirt to grip at the wound, whimpering.

"Stop this," the psychologist, who had spoken at first, now voiced quietly. "You're only making it worse for yourself."

The darker half looked too riled to understand. His chest was heaving with every shuddering breath he took, and his fierce eyes glinted up like a demon's through thick locks of stark white hair. The guard's blood was dribbling from a corner of his mouth, and as she watched, his pink tongue darted out to lap it up like milk.

"Stop that," she said, more feebly. She grimaced with disgust.

But Bakura was fed up with orders and 'stop this' and 'stop that'. He wrenched his fist from the other guard and, without losing a moment, plowed it through his face. "Enough!" the psychologist shrieked, losing all composure. "I'll call more guards, and away you'll go!" Her eyes were welling up. "I didn't want to have to do this, Bakura. I only wanted you to take an overnight stay or two. But you've forced me to do this. Don't forget that. I never wanted to!"

The tomb robber ignored her babbling and instead let his gaze wander to the ceiling. She gave up and picked up a nearby phone to dial security. "Yes, there's been complications… right away? Lovely. Please, hurry." Bakura allowed her a crazed grin. "Yes, hurry, it's urgent."

He chuckled. "Am I making you nervous?" His voice was deeper, scratchier, and certainly more feral. Where had this come from? His eyes- they hadn't been as cruelly twisted. Or his hair- it wasn't as well-groomed as before. Even his stance- despite the lone remaining guard's efforts to pin him to the ground, he stood tall and proud, his stance as lithe and fluid as a cat's.

"Hold on… wait a minute…" she whispered, her throat hoarse from fear as Bakura disposed of the last guard by shoving him into the rather heavy-looking bookcase. "You're… you're… I must be crazy."

"Oh?" Bakura mocked. "You've finally gotten it, have you?"

"You're the _spirit_!"

Six more guards entered the room at that moment.

"No shit, Sherlock," the yami confirmed before he tapped the psychologist over the head with a nearby statue. "Nighty night."


	3. White Noise

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bakura. Or TéaOr Ryou. TT Poo. By the way, this story contains a very slight Téa romance. You've been warned. Don't like 'em, go elsewhere.

**Theme Song: **"Speak" by Lindsay Lohan**  
**

**A/N: **You're correct, Esther'nEra-guardians-ofChaos. Congrats. (grins)

For all those who didn't bother to look, or who simply couldn't figure it out, the reason Ryou's statue of Horus was beat-up looking was because Horus is the representation of the living pharaoh, aka, Yami Yugi. Just a little indication of what is to come… XD Oooh, now who can take that teaser? (sticks out tongue) Ok, go enjoy the story now.

* * *

Unwell

White Noise

* * *

The next time Ryou awoke, it was in a disturbingly white room. 

_Shit…_

He could feel Bakura hovering near the back of his mind, quiet.

_Look, it's all right,_ he told the spirit gloomily. _You did what you thought was best for me, I guess._ He was still angry- after all, here he was in an insane asylum, for Ra's sake- but he could understand Bakura's logic. The teen still shivered when he thought of his father's fists swinging down on him… he might have been dead by now if not for his yami.

The two halves embraced.

**I… I couldn't stand to watch…**

Ryou shushed him with a finger to his lips. _I know._

Bakura growled at the memory anyway. **Mine.**

_Heh._

A knock at the door switched Ryou's attention to the off-white panel. He felt Bakura start to surge forward, eager to punish those who had forced them here.

_No!_

Bakura paused, teeth bared in a half-formed sneer. **And why shouldn't I?**

_We need to prove to them that we're not crazy. We can't do that unless you behave._

The yami grumbled, but allowed Ryou to remain in control. The hikari smiled and answered the knock. "Yes?"

"Bakura Ryou?"

"Yes."

The door opened and a short doctor beckoned them forward, his coat blending in with the room so well that it appeared as though his head was floating in midair.

**Why is everything so damn white here? **Bakura wondered.

Ryou followed the doctor out the door and down a matching hallway. The only splashes of color were the other man's short brown hair and the Ring. They'd evidently found his clothing too bright because he was blending in like a chameleon at the moment.

And now that he thought on that, why exactly did he still have the Ring?

Bakura was curiously quiet on the matter, but he decided not to press it.

They arrived at a door quite nondistinct from the others that they'd passed, and the doctor knocked politely.

"Come in," was the curt answer, so he opened the door and ushered Ryou inside.

"Ryou," Seiko Bakura said warmly, standing up.

The teen simply bowed his head, the white, shaggy hair doing the rest.

Noting what was going to be a tense meeting, the doctor bowed and exited, closing the door carefully behind him. A nurse shifted in her chair in the corner, mostly unnoticed thanks to her stark uniform and quiet presence.

"Ryou," the father said again, attempting to sound more welcoming. He only ended up registering as pathetic. "Please, talk to me."

Ryou wasn't intentionally ignoring him.

** _I am going to rip this bastard to bits!_**

_Stop, nonono, don't! _Hikari and yami wrestled for control, desperately attempting to clutch the controls.

_Remember what happened last time!_ Ryou yelled finally, causing Bakura to hesitate and open an opportunity.

"Father, why am I here?" His voice was cold and factual.

"Because something's not right with you," Seiko supplied aptly. "This sudden Egytian phase? Blaming the Ring as the reason for spirits in your head? What's gotten into you?"

**If he only he believed what we'd said, he would know,** Bakura commented with a snide up-turn of the mouth.

"But it's all true," Ryou said firmly. "His name is Bakura, and if you'd only listen-"

"You've gone off it, Ryou!" his father suddenly roared. "Think about what you're saying! This is madness!" The nurse's head jerked upward sharply at his voice; it had been beginning to nod.

"Stop," the teen pleaded, spreading out his hands. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Enough," Seiko said, disgusted. "You don't recognize when someone's trying to help at your age, I understand. Nurse!" She had been nodding off again, but she sat up straight and looked at him attentively.

Ryou looked about, noticing the nurse for the first time. "I'm ready to leave now." His father proclaimed. The nurse peered up from under thick lashes and dark brown bangs, nodding. She looked young, about his age, but she seemed quite reserved. With a graceful flourish, she stood and gestured for Mr. Bakura to journey one way, presumably toward the exit, and Ryou to venture on with her.

"Father!" the teen yelped, shocked. "Don't tell me you're just going to leave me here-" The man rounded a white hallway corner and was lost from sight.

Ryou sighed and followed the nurse's beckoning. Odd, that she didn't speak a word…

The teen looked at her curiously and was so unabashed that she eventually looked his way and blushed.

"Hey," Ryou said tentatively.

She looked at him and smiled expectantly.

**Mm,** Bakura commented appreciatively, shifting their eyes down to her concealed chest.

_Bakura!_ Ryou hissed, mortified, but the girl had thankfully chosen that moment to resume her downcast gaze to the floor.

Still slightly red, the teen tried, "My name's Bakura."

The little nurse cap on her head bobbed as she nodded, smiling again, this time in a more amused manner.

**She already knows that, baka,** the yami teased, also amused. **Why don't you ask the date or the weather to make things more interesting?**

_Hush, you,_ Ryou ordered half-seriously.

"What's your name?" he said at last, looking to her. She only shook her head, still with that smile. "Can you talk?" he ventured, confused. She shook it again, the smile slipping.

**Smooth.**

"Oh. Sorry." Ryou added awkwardly. The nurse patted his arm as if to say "No problem." and ushered him onward toward a lone door at the end of the hall they had turned into. Now that he thought about it, she was probably asked that question at least once a day.

_I guess it was my turn,_ Ryou thought glumly.

The nurse opened the door for him and bowed, gesturing that he go inside. "Thanks," he said, smiling at her in genuine sheepishness. "And sorry again."

A grin blossomed, dimpling her smooth cheeks, and she curtseyed her way out, blushing red as roses.

"Thank you, Miss Téa, that will be all," a cool voice informed the nurse from within the room.

The nurse gave one last bow, shutting the door behind her.

Ryou tore his eyes from her before the door closed and turned to face a rather tall and thickly built woman. "I am Mrs. Gerald, the institution's psychologist."

"Nice to meet you-" Ryou said, or rather tried to say. Mrs. Gerald was already continuing.

"I've read up on your case, Mr. Bakura, and I must say that it is most strange indeed." Here she paused, waiting for a comment, or at least a refusal, but Ryou had already decided to cease talking until she was quite finished. "Well," She moved on from the lapse. "I've decided that if you can promise to be on your _best behavior_, I will allow you to mingle with the other patients."

Here, Ryou supposed he was to grovel and cower and "_Oh pleaseohpleaseohplease!_" and such. Tough luck. "I promise," he said evenly.

Mrs. Gerald blinked. "Very well," she said with cheated disappointment. "One more thing."

Ryou waited for it.

"Would you like to turn in that Ring to us for safe-keeping? We tried to get it off

when we changed you into your uniform, but you wouldn't let it go."

**_Heh_.**

Ryou rolled his eyes at Bakura's snort; the woman thought it was directed at her. "Hmph. Well then."

She reached a hand to the enormous desk beside her chair and pushed a small, red button.

The door opened, and Téa entered, curtseying.

"Miss Téa, please escort Mr. Bakura to the recreation lounge." The girl bowed once and gestured to the door. Ryou stood, inclined his head to the older woman, and followed Téa dutifully. Wow. That had been rather pointless meeting.

_Thanks to the ruckus you caused,_ he told the spirit, who cuffed him good-naturedly.

They reached an open door from where the sounds of people talking and ping-pongs slapping tables emanated clearly.

Téa nodded Ryou inside, smiling, and the teen passed through a barred entry to the very inside before he was actually within the recreational room. The door clanged shut behind him and Téa locked it, waving goodbye as she bobbed back into the hallway.

**Friendliness seems to only go so far here,** Bakura observed, shifting in the back of his hikari's mind in order to see more clearly. **Sweet Ra- look at that one! He's frothing at us!**

Ryou summoned the memory of Bakura snarling, licking at the drop of guard's blood- and yes, frothing at the psychologist.

**Sorry, **the yami quipped primly, banishing the memory to the shadow realm. **Past evidence doesn't count.**


End file.
